In an exciting weekend of NESCAC play, Tufts men’s ice hockey had two games that were both decided by a solitary goal. Their 3–2 win against Middlebury on Friday and 3–2 overtime loss to Williams on Saturday made for a stressful weekend for those watching.
Against Middlebury, Tufts struggled to get their offense going in the first period but stayed in the game, thanks to the impressive netminding by junior goalie Gus Bylin, who blocked all but one of Middlebury’s 12 shots in the first period.
“Most of their shots were from the outside. We’ll let them take those shots all night. We trust our goalie enough to make those saves,” senior forward Tyler Sedlak said.
In the last minute of the first period, senior forward Harrison Bazianos was able to score the team’s first goal, and the period concluded in a 1–1 tie.
In the second period, first-year forward Rory Andriole got assists from junior forwards Liam O’Hare and Brendan Fennell to give Tufts a lead over Middlebury for the first time. Sophomore forward Marcus Sang was able to bring the Jumbos to a two-goal lead to start the third period, with assists from sophomore forward Trace Norwell and senior forward Brennan Horn.
After that, the Jumbos just had to hold on to their lead. Middlebury scored again in the third period to bring the game to a 3–2 finish, but Tufts held out to maintain their lead and win.
Though the Jumbos may not have had a consistently strong game against the Panthers, they were able to hold their lead through the third period.
“Earlier in the year … [we talked about] trying to win these games when [the score] is 2–1 or 3–2,” Sedlak explained. “Friday night, we definitely didn’t play our best, but we were able to find a way to win.”
Junior forward Max Resnick explained that though the team could’ve played better, the main goal was to find a way to win, and the Jumbos were able to do that.
“I thought we learned how to play in [a] different style of game this weekend. On Friday night, we probably didn’t play our best, and we, for the first time this year, stole a game.” Resnick said. “Sometimes good teams have to find a way to win if they’re not playing their best.”
Andriole explained that staying calm helped the Jumbos keep control of the game.
“I think we did a good job of not getting too caught up in the highs or lows that come within a game, staying level and finding a way to win.” Andriole wrote in an email to the Daily.
In the game against Williams, Tufts wasn’t so lucky in keeping their lead.
“Saturday, we were in a tight game, and [we] haven’t really been in that situation, with managing the clock, and managing the puck going [into] the third. I thought it was a good growing moment for us this weekend.” Resnick said.
The game was neck and neck throughout. Neither team could score in the first period, but during the second period, action picked up.
The scoring started with Bazianos’ second goal of the weekend, assisted by first-year defenseman Bryceon Lago and junior defenseman Chris Throndson. The goal was answered with one from Williams less than a minute later. Further into the second period, Andriole came up with his second goal, off of a turnover by junior defenseman Phillip Lammarre and a pass from O’Hare. But, Williams immediately responded again with a goal of their own to bring the score to 2–2 going into the third.
Though both teams tried for a goal, nothing found the back of the net in the third period, bringing the game to overtime.
After taking a penalty with just a few seconds left in regular time, the Jumbos started a man down in overtime, meaning the Ephs held a 4–3 man advantage. Williams scored 20 seconds into overtime, making it a 3–2 overtime loss for Tufts.
As hockey goes into the last few weeks of the regular season, it’s becoming more clear that every point is going to count for NESCAC standings to determine postseason placements. The top eight teams will play in the NESCAC tournament, with the top four seeds hosting the quarterfinals. Right now, Tufts is tied with Amherst for sixth.
“A lot of the teams that we will be playing here in this stretch are the teams we’re competing against for spots three through eight [in the NESCAC standings],” Norwell said. “I’m pretty optimistic. If you win a couple of those games, you put yourself in a pretty good position.”
This weekend, Tufts will play against Connecticut College twice. The Jumbos will play at the Camels on Friday night and will then be back to Malden Valley Forum to play at home on Saturday.
“Going into this weekend, we’re playing a team that we just beat in the playoffs last year,” Sedlak said. “They’ve lost eight games in a row, so they’re trying to get back on the winning train, and we’re in need of 6 points to jump the [NESCAC] standings.”
The Jumbos have the potential to have a strong showing against the Camels this weekend, and they hope to prove it starting Friday.
“We’re doing a lot of good things right,” Norwell said. “[If] we make sure we keep doing them right, we’ll keep winning games.”
